Running from the Truth
by Yukitalia
Summary: She chose to live her life as a boy in order to please her Aunt and Uncle and to keep her parents smiling. She figures that she should become a boy in order to please everyone around, until she meets the Host Club.


Chapter 1

Money Will Buy Us Happiness, Right?

*~*? POV*~*

Running.

I've always have felt that I've done nothing but run my entire life. Running because of fear, because of sadness, but most of all, the truth. However, I will say I'm good at it, considering that I have on one heel and wearing a princess costume right now. I finally came to a complete stop and sat on the edge of a beautiful fountain. The moon gave it a luminesce glow, which also reflected against my pecan tan skin.

"Heh, I knew they would hate me…" I said solemnly as my eyes begin to water. I gripped the edge of the fountain in anger, yet I couldn't help but smile at my own stupidity. Somehow, I knew people will never accept me for who I am, or more importantly, what I've done.

So I bet you're wondering how I got to this point in my life. Well, I should start from the beginning, about twelve years back…

-Twelve Years Earlier-

*~*Normal POV*~*

"Momma, Papa, look!" A young child about the age of four calls out, wearing a lavender tutu and purple leotard with matching ballerina slippers, "I can finally do turns on my toes without falling!" The child adds as she begins to show her parents, who were smiling genuinely at their daughter.

"That's very good Yukino!" The mother praised as she clapped her hands. The father then picks up his daughter and raises her up in the air. "My daughter is so talented! From wonderful art skills to dancing abilities, I couldn't be more proud of you!" he said cheerfully as he spun around once with his child in his hands, making her giggle with joy. The father sets her down gently and the child run off to a different section of the room to practice her turns again.

"Kyohei," came the mother's voice, "How can we even tell her?" She finished as a frown came across her face. "What can I tell her, that she can't go to anymore ballet classes because her father is doing horrible financially? Ayame, you know better than me that she loves dancing." Kyohei said grimly as he looked out the window. His family's company that has been known to sell baked goods was going into bankruptcy. With no other means to find a job, the family would have to cut back on the things they loved the most.

Kyohei grit his teeth in anger as he turned back to his wife. "Ryohei and I have tried everything, but no money was coming in, whatsoever. But I won't sacrifice that ballet class. I'll think of something," Kyohei huffed as he glanced at his daughter.

"Somehow…"

-The Next Day: Ballet Lessons-

Yukino sat against the wall and watched the other girls twirling about as she took a break from dancing. She noticed how long one girl's hair was and ran her hand through her own dark brown locks. _"I'll grow mine out too! So that way, I can look even prettier and look more like a girl!"_ she thought to herself as a voice echoed in her head.

"_She looks more like a boy."_ A male voice stated. Yukino froze to the comment and placed her hands on her knees.

"_She should have been born a boy."_ A female voice stated. "But, I am a girl…" she mumbled as her body began to tremble. "How can I act more girly? I don't like wearing dresses that often, I like simple pants and shirts. Uncle, Auntie, why do you hate me?" she asked herself.

"_Because you were a mistake from the very beginning_." She heard both voices chime in. Yukino jumped up from the comment that echoed. She shook her head to rid herself of the hurtful words. "No, I'm supposed to be here…" she stuttered.

"Yukino, your mother is here!" The dance instructor called out. Yukino looked up and stood up quickly. "Haha, no I'm actually her aunt, Sayame. Her mother is my twin." The woman said with a cheerful grin. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry! You both look exactly alike." The instructor said. Sayame just chuckled at the comment. Yukino didn't have time to get out of her dress out clothes, so she just took off her ballet slippers and put on her tennis shoes. She threw her slippers into the bag and ran towards the two adults. "Why are you here, Auntie?" Yukino asked, fearing for what she may say. "Well, your dad went to do a few errands and your mom asked me to pick you up." She answered sweetly.

Yukino was relieved that she didn't lash out at her. She gave a small smile and waved goodbye to her instructor. As the two left the dance studio, out of the sight of other people, Sayame grabbed Yukino's arm and pulled her forcefully. "Ah! A-Auntie!" Yukino cried out in pain as she used her other hand to pull her away from her. "You damn brat, look at you! Are you trying prove a point with that outfit?" Sayame yelled. Tears began to well up in Yukino eyes as Sayame's nails dug into her skin.

"N-No, I just want to go home…" She mumbled as the tears stained her cheeks. "There's nothing more pathetic than an ugly thing like you trying to look cute. Sometimes you make me sick. But it's a good thing you are your parents' problem, now come on." Sayame stated as she pulled Yukino along. Yukino wiped some of her tears and whimpered at the pain all the way to her house. Sayame then snatched her hand away from the small child and scoffed. She then knocked on the door and waited a few moments until her sister, Ayame, opened the door.

"Sayame, thank you so much for picking her up." The woman said cheerfully. Sayame imitated the same smile. It was true by just looking at them that they were identical, yet their personalities were completely different. "Oh, it wasn't a problem at all, but she did fall down along the way though." Sayame lied. Ayame kneeled down to Yukino's level and examined her arm. "Oh dear, sweetie you need to be careful next time, ok?" she said softly as she rubbed her shoulder, calming her down. "Ok, head to the bathroom so we can fix you up, then I'll make you something yummy!" Ayame said cheerfully. Yukino did what she was told and ran into the house.

"Would you like to come in for some tea?" Ayame offered but Sayame shook her head. "No, Ryohei is waiting for me back at the house, so I should get going." She stated as she turned on her heels and began to walk off. "Sayame," Ayame called out. Sayame stopped in her tracks and glanced back at her twin. "Is your family doing OK? I know with the bakery closing and everything, things may be getting hard. But if you need anything, you can always come here." Ayame offered. Sayame paused at the offering and gave a convincing smirk. "Don't worry Sis." She stated bluntly and continued to walk on.

Yukino ran the water in the bathroom sink and began to wash her face and arm. Once she shuts off the water, she sits on the toilet and waited her mother to come. "Maybe I should have been born a boy," she mumbled with a blank stare on her face. "That's what everyone wants anyway…Momma and Papa don't even smile like they use to. They all hate that I'm a girl…"

Soon after, her mother came in and tended to her wound and patted her daughter's head. "So what kind of snack would you like to have?" she asked. Yukino placed her finger on her lips and thought long and hard. "Some Daifuku please!" She asked with a wide smile. "Oh, your father loves those, but since it's just us, we won't have to worry about him hogging all of them!" Her mother joked, making Yukino giggle.

Once they made it to the kitchen and finished making the Daifuku, the front door opened to a familiar figure. "Hey, I'm home!" Said Kyohei as he walked in and closed the door. Yukino ran to her father to greet him. "Welcome home, Papa!" she shouted in excitement. Kyohei looked down to his little bundle of joy and smiled. "Hey there kiddo, had a good day?" He asked her. Yukino paused for a second before she nodded. "That's good to hear! Is your mother in the kitchen?" Kyohei asked as he pointed to the kitchen. Yukino nods again and follows her father.

"Ah, welcome home darling." Ayame said with a soft smile on her lips. Yukino ran up to the kitchen table where the plate of Daifuku was and takes a bite of one. Kyohei smilied at his child innocence and turns his attention to his wife. "Did you finalize the documents?" Ayame asked as she started to wash some dishes. "Well, I looked at the few I had left for the bakery, but I didn't finalize it as of yet." Kyohei stated, making Ayame turn to him in worry. "Kyohei, why didn't-."

"I sort of ran into something that made me delay them." He said bluntly as he looked to the side. Ayame raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. "Which was?" She asked as she crossed her arms, waiting for his response. Kyohei then smirked at his wife and pulled out a scrap of white paper. "It's a lottery ticket for tonight's drawing." Ayame shook her head in disbelief. "The lottery is really risky, Kyohei. There may be a chance you won't even win." She stated as she looked at her husband.

Kyohei stared at her and then smirked. "I'm well aware of that, Ayame, but if it can relieve all of the stress on the both of us right now, then I don't care if I win or lose." He said softly as he gripped his wife hand. "Besides," he said as he glanced over to his child who became full from eating two Daifuku already, "I want to make sure she keeps dancing." Ayame stared at her husband for a moment and smiled softly. "Kyohei, you're a great man." Ayame admitted as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Ew! Kissing is gross!" Yukino mocked as she pointed at her parents. Kyohei gave a playful smirk as he walked over to his daughter. "Oh really? So this is gross?" He said playfully as he grabbed his daughter and kissed her cheek repeatedly. "Ah, Papa stop!" Yukino giggled as she tried to get out of her father grip.

-Around Eight o' clock that Evening-

"Papa, what are we watching?" The small child asked as she sat next to her father while wearing her favorite purple pajamas with little monkeys on them and hugging a matching stuffed monkey. "It called a lottery." Her father answered as he watched the small screen and held the white sheet of paper. "You see, they will call out certain numbers and they have to match the numbers on this piece of paper so I can win." He added as he showed her the numbers on it. "What do you win?" The young child asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"Well, you win money." Kyohei stated as he watched his daughters eyes light up. "Like $100?" She asked, making her father chuckle. "Way more than that, sweetie." He admitted. Yukino was completely fascinated that a piece of paper held so much power. "Kyohei, I think this is it." Ayame warns making her husband turn his attention to the screen. "GO PAPA!" Yukino cheered, making her father smile with joy.

"Welcome to Tokyo's Mega Jackpot! Tonight's winnings are worth 500 million dollar, so good luck everyone! The first number is…36!" The announcer informed as a random white ball came out of the container. "Huh, we got that one…" Kyohei stated bluntly, not expecting a number like that to be called.

"Next number is…21!"

"Wait, another…?" Kyohei eyes widened as they called another number he had. Ayame and Yukino began to feel excitement in their hearts.

"Next number will be…45! Followed by…2! And the fifth number is…19!" The announcer went on. Kyohei's hand began to shake in complete fear and excitement. The ticket had all the numbers so far except for one. "Are we…?" he thought to himself as he gulped hard.

"And the final number is…96! If you have these winning numbers congratulations and thanks for playing!" The room turned deadly silent as Kyohei held the ticket in his hand. "…Papa?" Yukino asked as she held her monkey tight, waiting for her father to respond. Kyohei blinked and looked at his family and smiled.

"We didn't win." He said in a mellow tone. Ayame and Yukino expressions turned into disappointment. "I needed a 69 to win the jackpot." But before he could say anything else, Yukino gave her father a hug. "It's OK Papa! This was a lot of fun!" she stated as she sat on his lap. Kyohei couldn't help but smile sadly at his daughter as he rubbed her head. "Heh, it was, wasn't it?"

The suddenly, the television clicked itself to the lottery drawing that appeared earlier. Everyone turned their attention to the small screen. "Another drawing, maybe?" Ayame asked. "I kind of doubt it." Kyohei responded. Soon after, the same man from before came on the screen.

"We interrupt your program for a slight correction. The last number was not 96 because numbers only go up as high as 75 so tonight's last number is actually 69!" the man announced. The air turned still and the family stared at the television comically. "Papa, wasn't that the number you needed?" Yukino pointed out innocently wondering why he didn't say anything. Then suddenly, Kyohei picked up his daughter and stood up.

"W-WE WON!" He proclaimed as raised the ticket in his hand. Ayame jumped up with joy and hugged her husband and daughter. "Kyohei, we're millionaires!" Ayame stated ecstatically while jumping up and down.

"Yay! You two are smiling again!" Yukino blurted out as she giggled for joy. Her parents stopped jumping about and look at their daughter, puzzled. "You two haven't been smiling since you talked to me about the bakery going away. But now, you're both happy!" Yukino added as her father sets her down on the couch. Kyohei and Ayame looked at each other. They wondered how their small child could figure out that they weren't truly happy while Yukino wondered if money will let her parents and her uncle and aunt to finally accept her for who she is. She smiled as that thought gave her a bit of hope as she unconsciously started to yawn while clutching onto her toy monkey.

"I think someone is very sleepy." Ayame finally said as she guided the youngster towards her room. Kyohei watch the two leave the room and looked back the winning lottery ticket. A small smiled formed across his lips, as he placed his free hand on the back of his head.

"I knew my daughter was sharp, just like her mother…" he admitted.


End file.
